Mean though I am, not wholly so, Since quickened by Thy breath; Oh, lead me wheresoe'er I go, Through this day's life or death. This day, be bread and peace my lot: All else beneath the sun, Thou know'st if best bestowed or not, And let Thy will be done. To Thee, whose temple is all space, Whose altar earth, sea, skies, One chorus let all being raise, All nature's incense rise! INCIDENT OF THE FRENCH CAMP _By_ ROBERT BROWNING You know we French stormed Ratisbon: A mile or so away, On a little mound, Napoleon Stood on our storming day; With neck out-thrust, you fancy how, Legs wide, arms locked behind, As if to balance the prone brow Oppressive with its mind. Just as perhaps he mused, "My plans That soar, to earth may fall, Let once my army-leader Lannes Waver at yonder wall,--" Out 'twixt the battery-smokes there flew A rider, bound on bound Full-galloping: nor bridle drew Until he reached the mound. [Illustration: WE'VE GOT YOU RATISBON!] Then off there flung in smiling joy, And held himself erect By just his horse's mane, a boy: You hardly could suspect--- (So tight he kept his lips compressed, Scarce any blood came through) You looked twice ere you saw his breast Was all but shot in two. "Well," cried he, "Emperor, by God's grace We've got you Ratisbon! The Marshal's in the market place, And you'll be there anon, To see your flag-bird flap its vans Where I, to heart's desire, Perched him!" The chief's eye flashed; his plans Soared up again like fire. The chief's eye flashed; but presently Softened itself, as sheathes A film the mother eagle's eye When her bruised eaglet breathes. "You're wounded!" "Nay," the soldier's pride Touched to the quick, he said: "I'm killed, Sire!" And his chief beside, Smiling, the boy fell dead. I. FACTS TO KNOW This little poem is very different from the poems of Longfellow, which we read a few pages back. It is very nervous and tense, and as you read it, it seems jerky in movement, not smooth as the waters of the Charles. Then again, sometimes words are omitted that make it a little difficult to understand at first reading. Moreover, Browning uses words in curious ways that Longfellow would not have thought about. There are many interesting things to learn about this incident, however, and after we have learned them, we appreciate the poem very much better. First we need to know the following facts: _Ratisbon_, or _Regensburg_, is a city in Bavaria, on the Danube River. Napoleon Bonaparte, the great Emperor of the French, was much the man the poem shows us. _Prone brow_ means that Napoleon's brow was inclined forward, that his head was drooping. _Lannes_ was a famous French marshal, who showed remarkable powers of leadership. Both his legs were shot away at the Battle of Aspern, and he died a few days later at Vienna.